On the last day of the fall veto session the Senate approved a supplemental spending measure that provides funds to allow for the timely implementation of Illinois’ new concealed carry act. Thanks to the appropriation of these funds Illinoisans will be able to more expediently see this new law take effect.
House Bill 209 added $50.2 million to the current year state budget. However almost all of those dollars would come from special dedicated funds and user fees, rather than general tax dollars.
The largest component was $34 million to implement the state’s concealed carry law, which would be paid for through concealed carry license fees. Most of the money would go to the Illinois State Police, while about $2.5 million would be used by the state’s Human Services agency to comply with the mental health reporting requirements of the new law.
The only portion of the spending bill that used general tax dollars was $500,000 to pay Court of Claims awards owed by the state.
Although the Governor asked for $112 million to settle a back-pay dispute with the state’s largest employee union, those funds were not included in the supplemental funding. Opponents argue that the administration needs to find those funds within the existing budget rather than seek new spending.